Memorable Moments from the Cal Poly NCAA Regional

Fans from the city and county of San Luis Obispo made a great showing over the weekend. by Owen Main

If you were there, you know that last weekend’s regional was a special weekend for both Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo baseball fans. Here are a few memorable moments and a some important notes from last weekend.

SLO hosted a regional

The fact that this county hosted a regional is a memorable moment unto itself.

San Luis Obispo hosting an NCAA baseball regional is about as good as it can get for an on-campus sporting event at Cal Poly or anywhere between Santa Barbara and San Jose. Six games in three days were all close. Over 15,000 fans came out to Baggett, making the regional a huge success for Cal Poly Athletics. The teams who were eliminated were all really good. Pepperdine turned out to be a little better than everyone else on this particular weekend.

Larry Lee

If you haven’t read this story from the Tribune on Larry Lee and his coaching legacy in San Luis Obispo, you need to. For him to have been the coach when the Mustangs were first able to host a Regional is pretty important. He clearly has a ton of respect from other coaches — every coach went out of their way to talk about the great job he’s done when describing the Regional. Lee knows what he’s doing and has a pretty clear plan. Seriously — read that story.

Matt Imhof delivers a pitch in his final game at Cal Poly. By Owen Main

Standing ovation for Imhof

On Friday night, Cal Poly ace, Matt Imhof, showed why he is going to be a high draft pick this season. Despite not having his best command, Imhof battled to give Cal Poly the win in their Friday night Regional opener against Sacramento State. Imhof gave up just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings in what will likely be his final game in a Cal poly uniform.

He tipped his cap as fans gave him a standing ovation on his way out of the game. Imhof was expected to be drafted within minutes of this post going live.

Jake Peevyhouse had an all-time meltdown on Friday afternoon in the first game of the Cal Poly regional. By Owen Main

Peevyhouse loses it

Arizona State didn’t have the most memorable of regionals. The Sun Devils lost a one-run game to Pepperdine on Friday afternoon and followed it up with a loss to Sac State on Saturday. The young team from Tempe has good talent, but couldn’t quite put it together over the course of two games in San Luis Obispo.

The whole weekend was frustrating — no moment moreso than a called third strike on Jake Peevyhouse, ASU’s number three hitter. Peevyhouse argued more demonstratively than any college player I’ve ever seen. He would have been tossed by over half the major league umpires out there, but on day one of the NCAA Tournament, the umpire was hesitant to run him.

Sac State avoids” two and queue”

Sacramento State made a good showing in their first NCAA Regional. After losing to Cal Poly on Friday night, Sac State battled against Arizona State to win a Saturday afternoon game before falling to the Mustangs again on Sunday.

This Sac State fan joined a big group cheering for the Hornets. By Owen Main

Sac State head coach, Reggie Christiansen seems to be recruiting the Sacramento area really hard — trying to keep homegrown talent in the state capitol. All I knew about Sac State coming into the weekend was that they had been in a brawl last season with UC Riverside. I came out of the weekend with lots of respect for Christiansen and the Hornets’ program.

Cal Poly makes it to Sunday night

Joe Davidson, who joined my pre-regional podcast last week, asked me a question on Friday — How disappointing would it be if Cal Poly diddn’t win their regional.

It took me a moment to think about. Coming into this season, the Mustangs had never won more than a single game at a regional (last year). They had never been ranked in the top-10 in the country, never been ranked number one, never hosted a regional, and never won a Big West Conference championship.

So, while it was disappointing that the Mustangs didn’t win the four-team regional, it was also a hugely successful season. Walls were broken down throughout the season and, as Lee pointed out after Sunday night’s game, at some point it becomes the norm. Fans in San Luis Obispo had their hearts ripped out by Pepperdine, but the Waves are a deserving team. By making it to Sunday night, Cal Poly showed they belong int his situation. In baseball, anything can happen. If not for two plays in each of Cal Poly’s losses to Pepperdine, the Mustangs might still be playing.

Disappointing? – Yes, but not soul-crushing. I won’t be surprised if attendance continues to go up at Baggett Stadium next year, no matter how good the team is. Cal Poly baseball made itself some new fans to be sure over the weekend. With continued improvement from Cal Poly athletics, San Luis Obispo is the kind of town that will latch onto winning programs.

Brown liner

Aaron Brown’s shoulders make it look as if he were chiseled in ancient Rome. In the championship game, Pepperdine’s cleanup hitter and eventual Regional MVP lined a foul ball down the right field line. The ball hit a Mustang News photographer square on the thigh. I mean square. Dead-on. Brown hit it so hard, the woman barely had anywhere to go as she stood on the warning track down the right field line. It’s a place I stood for many innings during the regional.

To her credit, she didn’t even rub the spot where she got hit. She held onto her camera and finished shooting the game. Mad props.

The weather

I think there were a few high clouds, but the weather was amazing. Hot during the day and cool at night is what SLO is known for. Nobody could have asked for anything better.

Nick Torres’ Sunday night homer was probably his last in Cal Poly green and gold. By Owen Main

Torres and Allen homer in their final game

Junior Nick Torres and senior Jimmy Allen have both also likely taken their last official Baggett Stadium at-bats. Torres will be drafted this year and barring some surprise, won’t be back next season. In the midst of Cal Poly’s five-run comeback on Sunday night, Allen and Torres each homered.

It was a fitting way for both to go out — not in the fact that they lost, but in the fact that they both stepped-up when it mattered most.

The bottom of the eighth

On a night that would end in extreme heartbreak, Cal Poly and its fans had about an inning and a half of pure, exalted jubilation. Between the seventh inning stretch and the end of the eighth inning, Mustang fans found their voice and the Mustangs, finally, found their bats.

First, Nick Torres’ seventh-inning homer, a towering shot into left-center field, brought the Mustangs to within 6-4. After an electric and fast top of the eighth, Cal Poly seemed to clutch hit after clutch hit before the score was tied on a fielders’ choice play that Pepperdine couldn’t turn into a double-play.

Chants of Cal! — Poly! and an atmosphere I’ve only experienced during the Major League Baseball playoffs were stifled in the top of the ninth when Pepperdine grabbed the lead again. For Cal Poly fans though, that inning and a half will leave a lasting memory of the best baseball team Cal Poly has ever fielded.

Congratulations to Pepperdine and good luck at TCU. By Owen Main

Steve Rodriguez and Pepperdine are easy to root for

I don’t know about any other Cal Poly fans, but I’m rooting for Steve Rodriguez and the Waves this week against TCU and the rest of the way. If they face Irvine in the College World Series, I’ll keep my Big West pride and root for the Anteaters, but Rodriguez’ Waves came to this regional ready to play. When teams are closely-matched, execution becomes huge. It seemed as though every Cal Poly miscue led to key runs for the opposition while Pepperdine’s errors didn’t cost them nearly as much. It’s the cruel reality of baseball.

Rodriguez made reference to the fact that the Waves have been on the other end of bad breaks in regionals before. Like Lee, Rodriguez seems to maintain the longview about his team and this tournament. He paid homage to the great season Cal Poly had and came off in press conferences as a coach who is pretty easy to root for.